Carstairs Considers....: TV Show Review: Reba

Saturday, June 8, 2013

TV Show Review: Reba - Season 3

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Funny episodes that tackle some serious issues

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Great modern sitcom

That always leaves me laughing

Reba's so funny

"Oh, That's Weird. According to My Driver's License, I Wasn't Born Yesterday!"

By season 3 of the sitcom Reba, I was fully on board. This show was always funny while still managing to tackle some serious subjects. I never wanted to miss an episode.

The premise doesn't sound as funny as it is. Reba McEntire plays Reba Hart, a mom to three kids whose life falls apart in season one when her husband Brock (Christopher Rich) announces that he's divorcing her to marry his pregnant dental hygienist Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman). Meanwhile, Reba's eldest Cheyenne (JoAnna Garcia) became a teenage mother and married her boyfriend Van (Steve Howey). As of season 3, this young couple are still living with Reba. In season 3, middle daughter Kyra (Scarlett Pomers) enters high school and the youngest Jake (Mitch Holleman) is now 9.

As the season opens, Kyra announces the decision she's made, which left us hanging at the end of season 2. She is going to move in with her dad and Barbra Jean, who have just moved two doors down from Reba. This complicates the parenting as the rules between the two houses really conflict.

Meanwhile, Van drops out of college to join an area football team and shaves his head in a moment of team bonding, and Cheyenne decides on a major in college, something Reba thinks she can't handle. Reba and Brock enter a 5K race and compete against each other. Barbra Jean freaks out when she learns that someone died in their new house. And Brock begins to face up to his life as he thinks about selling his dental practice to play golf professionally and starts seeing a therapist.

Yes, even those episodes dealing with Brock's depression are funny, which is a tribute to the great writing on the show. They find that perfect balance between jokes and laughs while still managing to treat these subjects seriously. It's a very fine line, and they walk it perfectly. Okay, so maybe those episodes aren't as funny as some of the others, but they do still have their classic moments.

Even when this show was doing what would become a very special episode on any other show is still hilarious. The case in point this season is "Calling the Pot Brock" which deals with the subject of marijuana. It's one of my favorite episodes of the season because it is so funny.

Of course, for this to work, the acting has to rise to the level of the scripts, and it does that every week. I've never seen Reba McEntire in anything else, and I didn't think I'd like the show because I figured she couldn't act. Wrong! She's terrific and a great comedian. By this point, the entire cast knows their characters, so they are able to milk their lines for every possible emotion and make it seem effortless. There's not a weak performance in the bunch. My favorite still has to be Scarlett Pomers who plays the sarcastic Kyra to perfection. She is an absolute joy to watch.

Season 3 consisted of 22 episodes, including the double length premier, and they are all here on 3 double sided discs in their native full frame and stereo sound. This is the last season where we got any extras. There are commentaries on about half a dozen episodes by some combination of the executive producers and actors. When it's just the actors, it's not that interesting, but when the producers get in on the act, we get some interesting information. "Matters of the Hart" is a 17 minute look at the season with interviews with the actors and producers about it. Finally, "Melissa's Backstage Diary" finds Melissa Peterman backstage finding out what some of the many crew members do. It's fun at times and a bit long at others.

This show continues to mine the ordinary and even the serious for truly laugh out loud moments. I've seen these episodes before, and I still found myself laughing hard at them. Season 3 of Reba is perfect for anyone who loves a good sitcom.

Season 3 Episodes:

1. She's Leaving Home, Bye Bye

2. War and Peace

3. The Best and the Blondest

4. Spies Like Reba

5. Calling the Pot Brock

6. Encounters

7. The Ghost and Mrs. Hart

8. The Cat's Meow

9. Regarding Henry

10. The Great Race

11. All Growed up